title: The dynamics of heterotrophic algal cultures.
abstract: In this work, the time varying characteristics of microalgal cultures are investigated. Microalgae are a promising source of biofuels and other valuable chemicals; a better understanding of their dynamic behavior is, however, required to facilitate process scale-up, optimization and control. Growth and oil production rates are evaluated as a function of carbon and nitrogen sources concentration. It is found that nitrogen has a major role in controlling the productivity of microalgae. Moreover, it is shown that there exists a nitrogen source concentration at which biomass and oil production can be maximized. A mathematical model that describes the effect of nitrogen and carbon source on growth and oil production is proposed. The model considers the uncoupling between nutrient uptake and growth, a characteristic of algal cells. Validity of the proposed model is tested on fed-batch cultures.
authors.affiliation: Chemical and Materials Engineering Department, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: De la Hoz Siegler
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ben-Zvi
authors.forename: R E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Burrell
authors.forename: W C
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: McCaffrey
mesh_terms: D002244:Carbon / Q000378:metabolism; D058086:Microalgae / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D008954:Models, Biological; D009584:Nitrogen / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D002244:Carbon; D009584:Nitrogen